Audio Interface with 8 line inputs

[twotoedsloth]

Hello,

Thanks for taking the time to read this. Can anyone recommend a USB audio interface with 8 balanced line inputs? I'm not terribly concerned about the lowest noise specs, but more for reliability, it will be used to record Jazz student recitals - if a student wishes to contest their grade they will need a recording. It will be fed from the direct outs of a Mackie 1604 console, and into a 2012 MacBook Pro with 8 gigs of RAM, running Reaper.

Please let me know your thoughts,

Peter

[n o i s e f l e ur]

Budget?

Not that it's any great mystery what I'll advise . . . <cough> RME Fireface UC / UCX <cough cough>

You can ask Martin how he's getting on with his, if my say-so isn't worth very much to ya - but I'd say they're (RME) the very definition of reliability.

[twotoedsloth]

Hello, thanks for your reply.

After scouring the RME website, I think that maybe the Fireface 802 would be the better choice, as it has 8 line inputs on the back, I'm not sure my snake would reach from the front to the back as it would have to for the UC/UCX.

The major drawback is cost, I'll have to see how much we can stretch the budget.

Many thanks,

Peter

[Bob Bickerton]

Just a left field suggestion. I recently helped out a local college with their recording setup and a conclusion we came to was for them to purchase a Tascam Model 24, which is a 16 mic input channel mixer which can act as an interface over USB but importantly also has onboard multichannel SD card recording.

The reasoning being that whilst they did require the ability to mix in the box, there were also situations where students needed a quick out-of-the-box recording solution to track assessment recitals. In addition I felt the analogue layout to be a useful tool when teaching mixing and basic EQ technique.

There’s also a 10 mic channel version now too. This may render your Mackie redundant, but could be a good investment and will probably not cost much different to an interface.

Bob

[Folderol]

I see Behringer are doing a rack mounted unit that looks pretty solid and relatively cheap.
Looks remarkably similar to the M-Audio M-Track Eight I bought a couple of years ago

[n o i s e f l e ur]

Hello, thanks for your reply.

After scouring the RME website, I think that maybe the Fireface 802 would be the better choice, as it has 8 line inputs on the back, I'm not sure my snake would reach from the front to the back as it would have to for the UC/UCX.

The major drawback is cost, I'll have to see how much we can stretch the budget.

Many thanks,

Peter

Yeah, the 802 looks great - in fact it would probably suit me better than my current UCX actually due to the extra I/O and headphone out.

The other manner in which it would be superior is you could plug in your line-level sources and never have to worry about accidentally hitting them with phantom power from the mic-pres.

And yep . . . the price. Not cheap at all . . . of course the performance - also not cheap. I justified the cost of my RME kit by taking longevity into account as well as the usual criteria of price, performance, reliability etc. By this I mean . . . will it be supported going forward for more than a few years?

[DGL.]

Or another option is to replace the Mackie mixer with a Behringer X-AIR XR18, 18X18 audio interface plus fully featured digital mixer with, 18 balanced analogue inputs (16 on combi jacks 2 on 1/4") and 8 XLR outputs. ~£345. Needs a PC or tablet for control though.

Or if the budget is there the X32 Producer is sub £1000 and the Compact is less than £1,100 and come with a 32x32 channel USB audio interface. Each mixer has 16 XLR ins 8 XLR outs and 6x6 1/4" aux inputs, two of which have RCA's as well as 1/4"

[ef37a]

Little use to the OP I think but I now have an ESI 1010e I no longer have any use for.

It worked perfectly well in a W7 desktop for many years although setting it up, i.e. the drivers is a bit of a trial. I do not want anything for it and 'getter collects'.

I know someone started a "gear swap shop" thread here but I am blowed if I can find it atmo!

Ooo! Just seen ESI have drivers for W10 so the interface might not be as obsolete as I thought. Offer still stands.

Dave.

[DGL.]

Little use to the OP I think but I now have an ESI 1010e I no longer have any use for.

It worked perfectly well in a W7 desktop for many years although setting it up, i.e. the drivers is a bit of a trial. I do not want anything for it and 'getter collects'.

I know someone started a "gear swap shop" thread here but I am blowed if I can find it atmo!

Ooo! Just seen ESI have drivers for W10 so the interface might not be as obsolete as I thought. Offer still stands.

Dave.

Works here on win 10 if that helps.

[ef37a]

Hi DGL, do you run any MIDI through your 1010e?

I ask because when I got mine Thomann did not send the driver disc and I had a lot of hassle getting it setup. I had several conversations with great chap at ESI (Creative?) who told me "don't bother with the MIDI side, not good". So I never did and since I already had a 2496 installed son was well catered for for VSTis and Cubase.

Dave.

[DGL.]

Hi DGL, do you run any MIDI through your 1010e?

I ask because when I got mine Thomann did not send the driver disc and I had a lot of hassle getting it setup. I had several conversations with great chap at ESI (Creative?) who told me "don't bother with the MIDI side, not good". So I never did and since I already had a 2496 installed son was well catered for for VSTis and Cubase.

Dave.

The MIDI interface has never worked properly on mine so naturally never used it.
Note that the machine I had it working on is a Core2Duo based win 10 machine that hasn't been used for a year, but it worked before the machine was stored.

[Martin Walker]

Budget?

Not that it's any great mystery what I'll advise . . . <cough> RME Fireface UC / UCX <cough cough>

You can ask Martin how he's getting on with his, if my say-so isn't worth very much to ya - but I'd say they're (RME) the very definition of reliability.

A quick post to confirm that I'm still loving my new Fireface UC bought a week before Christmas - it sounds wonderful, in action it's rock solid, its driver performance is exemplary (on my projects using Reaper I can run it all the way down to a buffer size of 48 samples without any glitching), and I now love the RME blue front panel

Martin

[The Elf]

A quick post to confirm that I'm still loving my new Fireface UC bought a week before Christmas - it sounds wonderful, in action it's rock solid, its driver performance is exemplary (on my projects using Reaper I can run it all the way down to a buffer size of 48 samples without any glitching), and I now love the RME blue front panel

Please allow me to be the first to say "We told you so!"

[Amazingmastering]

I like the MOTU Ultralite hybrid. Its super clean with great converters and good drivers to give you low latency and good performance in your DAW. I have one as a back-up.

[twotoedsloth]

Okay, change of plans!

We are going to purchase the Soundcraft Signature 22MTK.

It has USB direct outs on every channel plus and stereo LR, obviating the need for a separate audio interface, plus there are rudimentary effects which will be useful for the live mix.

Thanks for all of your replies, I hope there are no hard feelings that I didn't take your advice.

Hopefully I am not making a colossal error.

Peter

[Bob Bickerton]

Makes sense as I noted above.

The Soundcraft would be my choice too unless I wanted to be computer free, which would bring me back to the Tascam.

Bob

[dickiefunk]

I’m using a Motu 828es. Wonderful sounding interface.